Paleolithic to Neolithic Human Prehistory: Chronology & Culture

Paleolithic Period: Chronology & Culture

Chronology

Chronology: 2.4 million – 10,000 (years BP).

Divisions

Divisions: Lower: 2.4 million – 200,000; Middle: 200,000 – 35,000.

Weather and Climate

Weather: adverse. Alternating glacial and interglacial periods.

Economy and Subsistence

Economy: hunting, fishing, fruits, seeds, insects, animal eggs.

Predatory: did not practice agriculture; people took and depended on nature for their food.

Consequences of the Economy

Consequences: nomadic life. Human groups moved in search of nuts or following animals. In winter they sheltered in caves and in summer in huts near streams.

Work and Technology

• Work: hunting; preparing skins; making weapons; carving stone tools; working bone and horn; gathering fruit (unspecialized).

Social Organization

Social organization: small groups of about 20–30 people. Related tribes performed tasks such as hunting and collective defense. Leadership tended to fall to stronger individuals, such as a powerful warrior or a healer.

Religion and Ritual

Religion: worship of the forces of nature (rain, thunder, lightning). Magical-religious rituals were performed to promote hunting success and fertility. There was also a cult of the dead.

Cave Paintings and Rock Art

Cave paintings: on ceilings and walls of the Iberian Peninsula, especially Cantabrian caves (caves of Altamira and Tito Bustillo), and in southern France (Lascaux).

Materials and colors: iron oxides (red), ash/carbon (black), ochre (yellow/brown).

Subjects and style: images of individual animals they hunted, often large in size, showing little movement but a high degree of realism. Hand stencils and signs also appear.

Portable Art

Portable art: small movable objects. Female figurines called Venus figures likely related to fertility rituals. Other objects include bone and ivory items (batons, animal head carvings), ornaments and amulets.

Neolithic Period: Chronology & Developments

Chronology and Origins

Chronology: circa 10,000 – 4,000 (years BP, regionally variable).

Origins and spread: farming spread from the Fertile Crescent (Tigris and Euphrates) to Egypt, Europe, India and China.

Climate

Climate: climate change led to warmer and more humid conditions in parts of Europe, Asia and North America, and drier conditions in parts of the Middle East.

Environmental Consequences

Consequences: some species of plants and animals disappeared locally; others migrated and spread to different territories. Human groups had to adapt and seek new forms of food.

Economy and the Neolithic Revolution

Economy: producer economy with the discovery of agriculture and animal husbandry. Humans left an exclusive reliance on wild resources and began to transform the environment. This major shift is known as the Neolithic Revolution.

Settlement and Demography

Consequences: sedentary lifestyle. Some villages and towns developed into cities. Population increased as communities were better able to grow food and secure resources; crops and livestock could be stored for times of scarcity.

Work and Specialization

Work: became specialized. Typical specializations included:

• making tools and utensils,
• production of ceramics and textiles,
• agricultural production and animal husbandry.

Trade, Leadership, and Religion

Trade and social complexity: societies became more complex. Leaders organized cultivation, water use and defense. Chiefs often monopolized political power; dominant groups and religious specialists appeared.

Religious events: worship of celestial bodies was related to regulating the agricultural cycle (planting and harvest). There was also a cult of the dead: people were buried with funerary offerings near settlements.

Artistic Manifestations

Art: ceramics adopted various forms and decorative features. Decoration techniques included incisions, stamps and impressions made with shells or punches.